https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52_NM1zrqng When a main event is so bad that the president of the UFC has to apologize to fans, you know you've got a bad one on your hands. That's what happened with Silva's fight agaisnt Demian Maia in Abu Dhabi, back at UFC 112 in 2010. White actually stated that he was "embarrassed" for Silva, and for good reason. What happened? First, lets point out that this was not the first time White was embarrassed for - or by - Silva. We'll get to that later. In this case, leading into the fight, Demian Maia, one of the best practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in the UFC, claimed that if the fight went to the ground, he would take one of The Spider's legs. He told fans he would shock the world. Pretty standard trash-talking by today's standards, and nothing compared to what Silva would face later in his career, but despite already being considered one of the best in the world at MMA, it managed to get under SIlva's skin. He felt "disrespected" - something he brought up in interviews before and after the fight. He seemed especially bothered that a fellow Brazilian was the one saying these disrespectful (in his mind) things. That should turn into a heated fight, right? Sadly, no. Instead, Silva spent several rounds clowning and avoiding Maia. He did exchange some strikes in the first two rounds, but not many, and by the third, looked to Maia to engage. He circled. He danced. He didn't try to fight. The crowd began to turn, and actually began chanting "GSP" - who wasn't even in the octagon. It was, rather, both a credit to GSP, who always showed respect to opponents in the cage, and maybe a shot at who they felt deserved the greatest of all time distinction. In the fourth round, Dana White walked out of the venue in disgust. In the fifth, the referee warned Silva about his antics, but by then it was too late. Silva won the fight by unanimous decision, but had tarnished his reputation with the fans. After the fight, when asked who Silva would face next, White was quoted as saying "Anderson doesn't interest me right now" and suggested that he didn't deserve a potential superfight with GSP. Silva did apologize to the fans after the fight, saying he "wasn't himself."
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.